For many of Us, Jergens unlocks core beauty memories — especially the brand’s Original Scent Cherry Almond lotion. So, when the skincare company approached Nicole Ari Parker and asked her to work with them on a special Mother’s Day project, she quickly said “yes.”
Parker, 53, co-designed a bracelet with jewelry brand Adina Eden inspired, of course, by Jergens’ most iconic scent.
“It felt like a full circle moment. It’s a Mother’s Day celebration. It’s celebrating moms and all the things that we received from the mother figures and moms, grandmas and aunties in our lives. It was just so good. Jergens is so familiar, so consistent. They haven’t changed a thing — especially the Cherry Almond scent,” Parker exclusively told Us Weekly.
The accessory features a gold chain band, adorned with a studded cherry and star charm. The limited-edition Jergens x Adina Eden Bracelet is available via Jergens.com while supplies last as a gift of purchase when shoppers buy any Jergens Original Scent Cherry Almond product. (You have to spend $15 or more.)
When crafting the bracelet, Parker reflected on her own motherhood journey as well as her bond with mom Susan.
“The beautiful gold link symbolizes the unbreakable bond between mothers and children and the cherries symbolize love,” Parker told Us. “It speaks to the different phases of motherhood when our mothers cried, helped us with homework and told us to put lotion on our knees and elbows.”
Parker, for her part, joked that the best part about being a mom is getting “to tell people what to do.” She shares children Nicolas and Sophie with husband Boris Kodjoe.
On a more serious note, she lamented that the greatest award of motherhood is “using everything that I have [on my children].”
She continued, “It maximizes our intellect but not our spirit. Motherhood uses everything. Everything that I’ve learned that’s coming through intuitively. It’s just the chance to get to love something and someone so much. I’m a better human because of my kids.”
Parker works hard to make sure her kids feel loved while also emphasizing independence, resilience, resourcefulness and curiosity — something her mother also engrained in her. “She would always say, ‘Look it up!’ when I had a question, so that helped me rely on myself,” the actress recalled.
Parker’s mom also preached kindness, which she says has translated to beauty advice.
“My mom would say pretty is as pretty does,” Parker explained. “If you’re kind and beautiful and loving to others, it will show up in you.”
Parker also shared that she attained a few beauty and style tips from her And Just Like That Character, Lisa Todd Wexley, a.k.a. LTW.
“Don’t save the dress,” Parker told Us, referencing LTW’s artful wardrobe that sees her picking up her children or trucking through the snow in couture.
“That Valentino moment crossing Park Avenue was iconic. I mean, 15 feet of silk chiffon, designed for me by Pier Paolo Piccioli with the Philip Treacy headpiece. You couldn’t tell me nothing that day or even for three months after,” Parker told Us of her character’s Met Gala moment during season 2.
Of course, that’s not LTW’s only memorable scene. Later in the season, Parker’s character had a speaking engagement that was overshadowed by a blizzard. Instead of canceling, she braved the storm, holding her wig in a designer bag, making it on time to the venue. Once inside, she pulled out the wig and put it on her head. The moment was hailed as a touching nod to Black women.
“I think as Black women, historically, presentation has been such a big deal. The way we hold ourselves, the way we wear our hair. So, in that moment it spoke to how we always try to be our best selves no matter what obstacle is in our way,” Parker told Us.
Parker being cast on the show, which is a revival of the hit series Sex and the City, was refreshing for fans as the comedy — starring Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw — lacked diversity. (Alongside Parker, Sarita Choudhury and Karen Pittman joined the show as friends of Carrie, Kristin Davis’ Charlotte York and Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda Hobbes.)
Nicole told Us that while the inclusivity was “so new” for the history of the show, it felt right.
“From the start, they were smart enough to put Black women in the writers room. They were smart enough to include storylines within the rhythm of 35-minute episodes. I had no reservations. They are all incredible humans,” Nicole gushed of the cast and crew.
Season 1 of And Just Like That premiered in December 2021 with season 2 following in June 2023. Season 3 will begin production in May.
